Ocrelizumab licensed for people with early primary progressive MS in the UK

Published date: 12 Jan 2018 at 7:00AM

Ocrelizumab has been approved as the first licensed treatment for some people with primary progressive MSin the UK.

Recently recommended by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), today the European Commission approved the licence.

UK regulators will now decide whether ocrelizumab should be available on the NHS.

Who can get ocrelizumab?

The conditions of the licence mean ocrelizumab (brand name Ocrevus) can only be prescribed for people with early primary progressive MS. This means:

people who have evidence of inflammatory activity identified through an MRI scan

Other factors that will be taken in consideration are:

how long they've lived with MS symptoms

their level of disability

In the trials used by the EMA to assess ocrelizumab for a licence, participants had MS symptoms for 15 years or less, and EDSS scores of 3.0 to 6.5. But those criteria aren’t defined in the licence. So if you think you could benefit from ocrelizumab, you should talk to your neurologist. There’s no age limit on who can be prescribed it.

Ocrelizumab has also been licensed for everyone with relapsing MS.

What’s the evidence?

In the latest trials, ocrelizumab slowed progression in primary progressive MS compared to a placebo (dummy) drug. It also reduced relapses and MRI activity and slowed progression in relapsing MS compared to beta interferons.

When will ocrelizumab be available on the NHS?

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will now decide whether ocrelizumab should be available on the NHS in England and Wales. Northern Ireland will decide whether or not to adopt the NICE decision shortly afterwards.

'A significant day'

Genevieve Edwards, our Director of External Affairs, said: “This is a significant day for people with primary progressive MS, who have never had an effective treatment. We know, however, that limitations on who can use ocrelizumab will be disappointing to some people with progressive forms of the condition, who still don’t have treatment options.

“This is an important step towards effective medicine for everyone with MS, but the next challenge is making ocrelizumab available on the NHS. We urge the manufacturer and appraisal bodies across the UK to make that happen as soon as possible, recognising the critical unmet need for treatment for thousands living with the condition.”

Help us make our case to NICE

We’ll be telling NICE why people with both primary progressive and relapsing MS should be able to access ocrelizumab through the NHS.

We want to hear from people who'd like to take ocrelizumab, to support our submission to NICE.

Do you have relapsing MS and think you’d benefit from taking it?

Or, if you have primary progressive MS, can you help us tell NICE what it’s like to live with, and why the first treatment option matters to you?